Saturday, April 13, 2013

New this week (4/10/13):

 Criminal Justice, the complete set
Season 1: After a one-night stand, Ben Coulter wakes up with a hangover and blood on his hands. Lying beside him, fatally stabbed, is the body of a woman. A nightmare begins that changes Ben's life forever, as damning evidence emerges to incriminate him in a murder that he has no recollection of committing. While in prison awaiting his trial, Ben must endure terrifying forms of 'justice' from hardcore inmates. Will he survive prison long enough to make it through a trial he has little chance of winning?

Season 2: A woman is charged with stabbing her barrister husband as he lay in bed. The officials investigating the case are in no doubt as to her guilt, although her motives are called into question. As she passes through the British legal system under constant scrutiny, the terrible consequences of her actions become clear.

Da Vinci’s Inquest, season 1
Working with police and pathologists while fighting bureaucratic resistance, Vancouver city coroner Dominic Da Vinci relies on high-tech forensic science and old-fashioned shoe leather to illuminate the murky world in which men and women commit murder.

Justified, the complete third season
Season three introduces a new main villain, Robert Quarles of Detroit. The parent criminal organization connected to the Frankfort mafia has exiled Quarles to Kentucky. Quarles begins to muscle in on the local criminals, successfully supplanting them until Raylan begins investigating. Simultaneously, Dickie Bennett, the lone survivor of the Bennett clan, seeks the aid of the black residents of Noble's Holler and their leader Ellstin Limehouse in recovering his inheritance.

Ripper Street
After failing to catch Jack the Ripper, Inspector Reid leads the "H" division, the toughest police district in their part of London.

Sleepers
Sleepers is a four-part spy satire about two long-forgotten KGB agents in England who have no intention of coming in from the cold. In fact, their 25 years as 'sleeper' agents -- during which time they had no contact with the Kremlin --have been quite comfortable. Albert Robinson (Warren Clarke) has a wife, three children, and a good job in a Lancashire brewery; and bachelor Jeremy Coward (Nigel Havers) is a London investment banker with a couple of residences and a string of girlfriends.

Tale of Two Cities
This is Dickens' tale of love, politics, and the aristocracy during the French Revolution.

Friday, April 5, 2013

New this week: (4/5/13)

English Vinglish   (Hindi)

Shashi Godbole is a super-sensitive wife, mother and daughter-in-law; a perfect homemaker and small-time entrepreneur. Her only handicap is English. Does she manage to master the Queen's language?  English Vinglish is a refined, adult coming-of-age story with a fantastic heroine at its heart. This is definitely a must-see.”—Karen Gibson, Access Bollywood
 
I was saddened to read of the death of film critic Roger Ebert this week. I was a fan of his TV show from the beginning. In fact, a common question to ask friends was: "Do you agree more with Roger or with Gene?" (I agreed more with Roger.) Both Roger and Gene seemed like old friends to me. I purchased and/or read many of Roger's books including his wonderful book about the Cannes film festival Two Weeks in the Midday Sun. I didn't always agree with his reviews but it seemed that he felt the same way about films that I did: that a films' success or failure depended as much on whether or not the film felt right as it did on plot, acting, technical quality, etc. I never felt that Roger, in spite of all the films he reviewed,or all the celebrities he got to know, that he was at all jaded or that he was unfair in his judgments. In my mind he was the best film critic ever. But now the world of film is changing. How we view films is changing and where we get our reviews is changing. My hope is that all of those reviewers out there in cyberspace use Roger Ebert as their model on how a good review should be written. Rest in peace Roger Ebert. We will miss you.